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Homeless program saves $300 k

An innovative project that took some of Los Angeles County’s most vulnerable homeless adults off the streets and into supportive housing not only paid for itself but yielded almost $300,000 in savings, according to a study released this week. Christina Villacorte in the Daily News.

The cost of implementing Project 50 was $3 million over two years, but the county estimates it led to $3.28 million in “cost avoidance” because participants reduced the frequency of their trips to county emergency rooms, health facilities, shelters, jails and clinics for physical and mental health problems and substance abuse issues.

Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, who has championed Project 50, said the study offered a compelling reason for ramping up the program. Initially, it had only 50 participants. Now there are 600.